Last Train Home
by canibecandid
Summary: "And if you wait for me, I'll be the light in the dark if you lose your way." Natella. Winner of Best All-Time Story in the Indie Camp Rock Awards!


**A/N:** I don't own Camp Rock. The song is "Last Train Home" by Ryan Star.

**For Logan**, remember to stand in the light.

* * *

><p>You haven't changed<br>Stand in the light  
>I need to see you<br>Uncover my eyes

What did you say to someone who was completely unraveling before you? Nate pondered this as he watched Ella plaster on yet another fake smile as someone asked her about her parents pending divorce. It was always the same response. "Oh yeah, it's been a long time coming." Or Nate's least favorite, "Well, I'm graduating anyway, what does it matter?". It mattered to him and to all of her friends who were trying to be supportive, but Ella was being uncharacteristicly stoic about this. She wouldn't budge or even try to convey that she was upset. Not through music, dancing, writing, not even through her sketching. She was sinking further into herself and Nate didn't like what he was witnessing. But how to make her see?

It was the last rehearsal before performance day and he was running out of time to make things better. He watched the last group number that she was in and found himself unsatisfied with her performance. It was so contained, controlled, and... bland. None of those things were usually used in describing Ella. Her movements were only so-so and he could tell that Andy and Barron weren't going to comment on it, trying to be sensitive to her situation. Maybe... maybe sensitivity isn't what she needed. So when Ella went to jump off the stage, Nate did took the opportunity to do what Nate's did best, blunt trauma.

"Hey, hold up there, Ells. I want to talk to you." She paused from swinging her legs over the stage edge and gave Nate one of her blank smiles. "Okay, sure." The rest of the group gave them a few questioning glances, but left anyway.

Nate vaulted on to the stage and offered a hand to help Ella up, which went ignored and a stab of irritation ran through him. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting for their conversation to start. He held his head in his hand, something he usually did when in a deep though, and all but willed the words to come to him; but for what ever reason, they just wouldn't appear. Then it struck him.

"Stand right here." He brought her to center stage and then ran to the back of the house. He eyed the keyboard and pressed a few buttons until a spot light shone down on her. Ella flinched and tried to back away. "No, no stay there Ells." He jogged back to her, placing a hand in the small of her back and lead her back to the light. "Ella, what do you see?" She squinted out into the audience, protecting her eyes from the light. "Nothing, I don't see anything Nate." It wasn't the answer he wanted so he asked her to try again. "I told you! I don't see anything!" She snapped, recoiling away from him. He smiled sadly, and held a hand out to her.

"You used to see Madison Square Garden. With your name up on the marquee lights." She shunned his hand again and skirted around the spotlight.

"We were Junior Rockers back then, thanks for rubbing that in. What was your point, exactly?" She scowled standing on the shadows. "Ella, come into the light." He offered his hand one more time and, grudgingly, she took it. He brought her close and prayed that those years of ball room dance hadn't been completely forgotten, though those lessons were much kinder to Shane than they ever were to him. As they stepped into a Viennese Waltz, he found that in her eyes she was taken off guard. They both had a hard time keeping their masks up when they had to concentrate on footwork.

"How are you really doing?" Her eyes flashed down to their feet and Nate knew his answer, but waited for her to say it vocally.

"Not so great, I guess." She bit her lip and looked away, it sure seemed like Nate was twirling them effortlessly. "When did you learn to dance?" Nate chuckled, securing his grasp on her waist.

"When mom first had us starting out. She thought it'd be good for us, ya know the whole 'Triple Threat' thing. It came more naturally to Jason and Shane, I had to practice," He almost stepped on her toe but caught himself, "a _lot_." They danced around in circles for awhile longer, loading themselves with questions. "Answer me this, Ells. When does the most out going, joyful, exciting person at camp, suddenly go out like a light?" She tried to slip her mask back on but her tone didn't quite match up. "Why? What's up with Jason?" Nate sighed and twirled her out from him and then brought her back with her front now facing the audience rather than her back. "You, Ella, I'm talking about you."

"When you find out that 18 years of your life has been a carefully constructed lie." Her venom was back, but she wasn't holding back her sadness any more.

"You know, Jason helped Cait through her parents divorce a few years ago." Ella scoffed.

"That's because he's head-over-heels for that girl." Nate gulped nervously, knowing the possible path that this could take. Ella stopped. "Why are _you_ trying to help _me?_"

He kept her facing the audience. "Because not to long ago, there was this girl who saw her name up in lights, who knew no fears, and there wasn't a challenge that couldn't be fixed or solved with a little hard work and a little glitter." Ella gave a small smile looking at the empty chairs again. "She taught me that there were no dreams, only possible realities that we had to work just that much more for. I miss her." He spun her to face him again. "I miss you." He softly kissed her head and Ella shut her eyes as she rested her head on his chest. "Nate?" He looked down at her and she met his gaze with a small smile."I can hear the applause again."

* * *

><p>The tears coming down<br>Making lines on your face  
>One for each year now<br>That you've been away

They had both decided to take things slowly; they'd get to know each other better, e-mails, texting, phone calls, the usual pre-dating things. Nate knew that her father had been threatening to not let her come back to Camp Rock as a camper, but never in a million years did he expect that Van Pador would go as far as sending Ella to another country. Granted it wasn't much of a punishment as far as summer vacations went, but it definitely limited their communications, which Nate could only assume was Daddy Pador's intent. It wasn't that Van hated Nate, just that they had two common interests; Music and Ella. While Van wasn't the best parent around, he was at least more sensitive than Ella's mother about the divorce. Mrs. Mai Lee Shum-Pador-Perkins had it drawn up that Ella would spend her summers and weekends with her father and the school year with her and her new husband... and step-children. Which meant that there were two more summers until Ella turned eighteen. That meant two potential years without Ella being at Camp. The thought left an unsettling sensation in his stomach and the camp grounds seemed to be less... less... sparkly without Ella. Nate was accustom to falling fast for girls, but never had one girl affected his perspective on an entire_ landscape._

How long was long enough? Could they work through a long distance relationship? Connect 3 didn't really play very many concerts in Greensboro, he let out a sigh. Why couldn't her mom have stayed in LA? Then they would at least have a chance for _something._ But it, of course, life didn't work that way.

So for two years, Nate and Ella had stayed in the 'Oh, you know, I'm talking to someone' phase. Nate had made sure to steer clear of any person who he could be romantically linked with, more for his own sanity than Ella's. She had tried to convince him to at least attempt to go on a date with someone, but in his mind it was cheating on Ella. Ella didn't date either, mostly because she was at an all girls conservatory. The e-mails had stayed constant and they even up-graded to Skype when Ella got a new laptop. It was nice, just to see the other's face and knowing that they missed you just as much.

Now, Nate was almost giddy about going back to Camp Rock, because life finally had given him a break... oh, and ya know, Ella had finally turned eighteen and was no longer obligated to be at her father's whim during the summer. He was all but bouncing in his spot when the camp bus arrived, but as the campers started to unload he became nervous. Should he have brought flowers? Was his hair okay? Would she like his outfit? Ella did like clothes. Would that be an important part of their relationship?

_Stop it, you sound like Shane. Pull yourself together._ He mentally chided himself, and then he saw her.

It could have been a movie for all he knew, not that he cared for Rom-Coms, but the way her eyes lit up at finding him gave them more credit than he previously had for the movie genre. She didn't head over to the baggage pile like the other campers, but straight into his arms. Two small tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and he brushed them away. The lost time didn't matter now, he finally had her in his arms.

"Welcome home, Ells."

* * *

><p>We were only kids we ran like water<br>Your dad said "stay away from my daughter."  
>The sun was coming down when I said<br>"can't you just believe?"

Sadly, the months at camp had to end. But Ella was going to spend sometime living with her dad in LA before moving into her college dorm, so that meant more time to enjoy each other's company. Nate soaked it up as much as he could. Ella's smile, her laugh, and the way she blushed when he would help her down the stairs or open a door for her. Never had he been more grateful for the manners his mother had instilled in him. They didn't try to hide their relationship from the public, but they definitely weren't advertising it either. The press had actually been pretty respectful about that and had yet to swarm them for photos. It seemed like everyone loved the idea of there being a "Natella"... except Daddy Pador.

He honestly hadn't meant to hear the argument, but really it was impossible. He could hear it as soon as he got out of his car; but there wasn't really a need, because as soon as he stepped out of the car, Ella was flying out of the door. He opened the door, expecting her to just slide in and they'd talk about it later. Instead, she latched on to him and nearly broke down crying right there. Over her shoulder he could see Van Pador sending his worst glare at them, so he tried to guide her in the car. "Ella, I'm going to need you to let go. Just for a second." When she did, he helped her into the car as best he could, shut the door and jogged back to his side, throwing it into drive as soon as his seat belt hit the latch.

Ella had curled into the seat and leaned heavily on the window, then after a few minutes, turned and rested her head on Nate's shoulder. She didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes and listened to the hum of his car engine and his breathing. Why couldn't things be this easy all the time? Life needed less fighting and more of _this_, what ever_ this_ was. She needed more time to just live and breath, but everything was moving so fast. Her dad had a point, Nate wouldn't be with her everyday while he was on tour and it was going to work. But what great things in life were free or didn't require effort? She was willing to work for her relationship with Nate, couldn't her father just respect that?

"He's just so awful, Nate. He just can't see past his own nose sometimes." Ella whispered, but didn't continue and didn't really leave the subject open for further comment so he just held her hand and drove.

* * *

><p>And if you wait for me, I'll be the light in the dark if you lose your way<br>And if you wait for me, I'll be your voice when you don't know what to say.  
>I'll be your shelter I'll be your fate, I'll be forever, wait for me.<br>I'll be the last train, I'll be the last train home

Nate knew that there couldn't always be good press, but he wished it had been anything but Ella's fights with her father. Apparently, he had fathered a child with Ella and Van Pador was not happy. Nate just wanted to crawl back into his bed and quit, but knew that was the opposite of what needed to happen, especially since he was at a press conference. Well, all of SynthBeat Record's major artists were here. Including Ella, but she was strategically seated on the other end of the table.

"Nate, is it true that you and Ella Pador are going to be parents?" He was Ella stiffen on the other end of the panel and Nate did his best to give a charming smile. "No sir, Ella and I's relationship is pretty new. We're really just getting to know each other." The reporter jotted down what he said and Ella slightly relaxed.

"Ella, is it true that your father is not in favor of your relationship?" Ella blanched again, but leaned toward her mic. "Well, he's being a father. How would you like it if your daughter was dating an amazingly talented rock star?"

"Ella, up until recently you have not been on the SynthBeat panel. Does this mean that SynthBeat is signing you to a contract?" Ella gave a proud smile.

"It's still tenative, but things are definitely looking up." Then one woman whispered to a reporter, who smirked and held out his mic.

"Is it true that the next single from Connect 3 is 'Video Girl'? Ms. Pador, didn't you get third runner up in the Miss. Carolina pageant?" The men of Connect 3 held back a collective sigh, that song was not about Ella at all and they hadn't realized that it could have been interpreted as such. Brown ran up on the stage and clapped his hands together. "Well, it's officially eleven o'clock meaning that the Q and A is now done. Thank you so much for your time."

It only caused a frenzy of flashes.

* * *

><p>We were a storm<br>It blew us away  
>I wouldn't leave you<br>But you couldn't stay

She left him.

To go to a school in Arizona for_ classical opera_. He had fought for them, and he knew that she didn't want to leave, but she boarded the plane before anyone else had known to stop her. The record company ended up dropping Ella, but that only sparked more rumors through the media. It seemed like only the fans like Ella enough to battle against the media, but even their support was dwindling. Nate was grasping at straws for reasons for Ella to not leave him. It seemed like the only reason that was valid would be doubted at this point. He wouldn't tell her that he loved her, scared for the damage that it would do to his heart if she just pushed him further. But Nate stayed in her life.

Monthly phone calls turned into bi-weekly, bi-weekly into weekly, and even weekly turned into daily. She was having a great time at school and preforming with the Santa Fe Opera House, but she missed her friends. It wasn't that Ella hand't made friends on campus, but none of them seemed to understand the pressure that Ella had endured in her relationship with Nate. So far, Nate really only liked Sam, who really didn't even know who Connect 3 was and practically lived in her own little world of classical music. She seemed to understand Ella's distress about being with him, but also encouraged her to make the first move and call him first; and that was something he could never repay. He also became a "Class A" Facebook creeper and Ella's profile page was his second most viewed page (after his e-mail), according to Google Chrome.

He tried not to look at her pictures. They reminded him that she wasn't in LA and was off making new friends. Friends of the male persuasion, who nestled much closer to Ella in her pictures than Nate though necessary. But her relationship status stayed resolutely in a "single" status, so that was something, right? Plus, Nate would have figured it out if she was dating someone. The phone calls would stop, Mitchie would give him pitying looks, his brothers would avoid him, Dana would go to say something and then stop, but Caitlyn just would have flat out told him. So, he knew Ella wasn't at school for dating. Maybe it was because she loved him too?

* * *

><p>We were only kids we ran like water<br>Your dad said stay away from my daughter  
>The sun was coming down when I said<br>"Can't you just believe?"

Over the next four years, Ella only came home for holidays and the summer time. Nate understood the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder", because every time she came out of the airplane terminal his heart would do somersaults. She would look around for him, in his over sized sunglasses, hat, baggy clothes, and her expression would light up like a candle and she would _run_ over to him. Ella never ran anywhere. The air would rush out of his lungs when she collided with him, her arms wrapping around his neck, and for his part he'd pick her up in a spin, causing her to laugh in delight. It started the same way every summer, and it always end the same way when she would go back to school. They'd hold on to each other as long and as close as possible, not speaking and enjoying their last few moments before they'd be reduced to Skype or FaceTime. When the attendants called her row, he'd kiss her forehead softly and hold her close for just one more moment. Then he'd let her go, as much as it hurt, he'd let her live her dreams, be her own person, and give her the chance of a life time. It was the least he could do for the woman he loved. Even if she didn't know it yet.

_"I though I've told you before to stay away from my daughter._" Nate pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat in his car.

"Yes sir, you have."

_"And yet, you purposely go out of your way to go against that. Do you know why I don't like you, Gray?"_ Van Pador paused on the receiver before starting again. "_Because I was just like you when I started out. Young, talented, and stupidly in love. But this ain't no average girl your messing with. This is my baby. She doesn't need a boy like you who's just going to hurt her in the end." _Nate rested his head on the steering wheel, hadn't this day been hard enough?

"I would never hurt Ella."

_"And I thought I'd never hurt Mai Lee."_ Nate paused and his brow furrowed in confusion

"Or did she hurt you?" The dial tone confirmed his answer.

And if you wait for me...

We were only kids we ran like water  
>I told your dad "I love your daughter"<br>The sun was coming down when I said  
>Hallie, just believe<p>

"I know that you don't like what I do, but from where I stand, we have two common interests. Music and Ella." Van Pador snorted and lit his cigar, taking a drag and letting it out before he turned to the younger musician.  
>"I know where this is going kid." He eyed how Nate's posture and jaw stiffened, letting out a throaty chuckle. "You look scared as shit, I'm willing to bet you're sweating bullets, and you act like you're bracing to be beat with a nine iron." He took another drag and tamped the ashes off the end. "In the end, I won't ever think you're good enough for Ella." Nate's fist clench and Van let out a barking laugh. "Hell, I wouldn't think a doctor would be good enough for Ella." His gaze turned serious. "She's my baby. I never want her to be hurt because, shit, I know I was a bad parent. She wouldn't ever say that, she's a great woman and you're lucky to have her." Nate gave a small grin.<br>Van tapped more ashes off the end, "You better treat her right, because I don't care who you are. You hurt her, I will end you." He held out his hand and Nate shook it, that was something they both could live with. "Now aren't you supposed to be picking my baby girl up for some fancy shmancy dinner?"

* * *

><p>And if you wait for me...<p>

Hold on to love and wait for me  
>I'll be the last train, I'll be your last train home<p>

"As a singer, you'd think I'd be able to memorize my vows. But when it comes to you, I've always been a little scattered." Ella gave a watery chuckle and a small sniff. "I know that I'm never going to live down the teasing, but that's okay because this moment is perfect. You, me, and everyone we love." He took a deep breath and tried to steady his hands. "We've been through so many challenges together, and I can't wait to have the rest of our lives together and meet new ones."

Nate scanned his cards again and shoved them back into his pockets, taking Ella's hands in his."Screw it, just screw it. I- I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this day. I've been waiting for 6 years." He gave a desperate chuckle. "Everyone always talks about how their girlfriends talk about marriage, you wouldn't even talk about moving in together. You tired to keep one foot out of the door just in case, and that terrified me." Ella gave his hand a squeeze and mouthed an 'I'm sorry'. He laughed again. "Why should you be sorry? We're here aren't we?" He gave a broad grin. "At some point, you just let yourself fall in love. I don't know when you did, or why, but I remember waiting for you to tell me that it was okay to tell you that I loved you. And it was driving me crazy." The attendants laughed and Shane and Jason elbowed each other, remembering when they would tease Nate for being the girl in the Natella relationship.

"But when you finally just let that last wall down, God, everything just made sense. I knew that you were it, for the rest of my life, until the end of my days, until my heart stops beating. It's you Ella Pador, soon to be Gray." He gave a cocky grin, but kissed the back of her hand. "There once was this girl, and she taught me that there were no dreams, only possible realities that we had to work just that much more for. I fell in love with that girl, I worked to be with that girl, and I'm marrying that girl."


End file.
